Deal or No Deal Island (or "How I Should Just Give Up")

Hi, it's me, Jordan. Welcome to my silly little blog. I know, it's 2024 and I'm still blogging.

My birthday was last Friday. Happy Birthday Me.

You don't need me to get into game shows, I have a podcast all about them

I've covered Survivor, the social game show that has had a cult audience since 1999.

I've covered Deal or No Deal, the luck based game show that I have said is “my favorite game show of all time” when I was ending my podcast the first time around.

And while I really wanted to talk about this on the podcast, however two things happened…

1) my sleep deprivation got so bad that I can barely talk on the phone, let alone a microwave for a podcast.

2) even if I did record it, I don't think it will be heard. did I mention there is a birthday episode? Oh well, maybe wait for Defunctland to talk about Deal or No Deal. Perj is good at this kind of stuff.

So, I decided to make it a text, something that I'm sure won't be quoted against me when I am in need of work in game shows, nor by the PR team over at NBC.

TL;DR - imagine two of your favorite foods put together, but the inferior version. Like Ice Cream Pizza. But the ice cream is Great Value sundae and it's on top of a Totino Party Pizza. It doesn't even go together.

Survivor was a hit when Reality TV wasn't a thing, because the premise of “voting a member off” was meant to be used to get rid of the weakest player to make the teams/tribes stronger.

However, what happened was it became a social game. You're not voting the weakest, you're voting the biggest threat, or the one that has a target on you, or the one that hasn't picked a side. And because of that, alliances and all, it evolved and became a story driven show of “good guys and bad guys” instead of how can people put their differences aside and survive on an island.

The show is still going strong to this day, while it's not “major numbers” like it's early seasons, it's cult audience keeps it going.

Not bad for “Expedition Robinson”.

FIVE YEARS LATER, DEAL OR NO DEAL HAPPENED.

While Millionjacht has been around for years at this point, as a LOTTERY game show, the format has grown.

Originally, it was a knockout based quiz game, where the last player standing plays Deal or No Deal as a bonus round.

But then, what people noticed was they just wanted to see the bonus game, and thats the format.

It was already in Australia, it's been built in France and those “open the boxes” translated into a UK version with Blob’s Your Uncle's own Noel Edmonds.

And TV Critics Agreed - “so you're just picking numbers for the hour, and that's it?”

It was originally going to be on ABC, the people who made Who Wants to Be a Millionaire a hit, only to kill it by having it on six nights a week!

But, they declined and instead it went to NBC. Where, in it's last months, managed to squeeze in a set and found a host - Howie Mandel who thought this game was a piece of shit, and his career would be over.

And, well, I guess that Christmas Week, it became a huge hit, as big as Millionaire. And tie-in video games, board games and ToysRUs sweepstakes would follow.

But NBC wasn't happy, they kept it going 3 nights a week, making it their Millionaire. And soon, the production would need to come up with gimmicks just to keep a show afloat, $3,000,000 on the line! SIX Million Dollar Cases, a fucking pony as a “offer”, anything to keep people talking about this show.

MEANWHILE IN THE UK AND AUSTRALIA… it was put in the afternoon, at that time Americans would watch Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune. In Australia, they gave away only $200,000 and was quick, as a half hour game show. No need to “tell your life story” - you're a DJ, you want new equipment. You're a teacher, you want to go on vacation. Easy peasy.

The UK version, was a human drama, they know it was luck based, but Noel’s Cosmology made it so it was also a philosophy battle for fatalists and determinalists alike. Sure, they open boxes, and a banker makes offers, but he's not offering ponies, he’s known that player for a few episodes. So now it's a psychological battle where The Banker (the producers) know what kind of person that player is (risk-taker vs conservative, statistics vs faith) into a show where you will feel bad if somebody crashes and burns. George Michael was a big fan of it.

But back to America, and The Office is on, and now here's Howie explaining the show.

“One Million Dollars is the top prize. And there is no wacky stunts. No trivia questions. The only thing standing between a player and one million dollars is one question… and that question is Deal or No Deal?”

So, imagine my shock when Deal or No Deal Island got announced and they went “actually, what if, some wacky stunts?”

Now, I'm not stupid, there is a current trend for “Island” based Reality TV. Love Island, Ex on the Beach, Bachelor in Paradise, F Boy Island, you would probably need to find a cartographer to try and assemble a map with all these new fucking island shows on the air.

And this one is no exception, as somebody who follows almost everything in game shows and reality shows. The original pitch that made the rounds on Deadline and the like, was for a format called “Money Island” with 13 PAIRS of contestants, trying to connect bags of money.

Sometime between that original pitch, and the writers strike, Deal or No Deal was making the rounds again.

It's rebooted in the UK, but with Stephen Mulhern and £100,000 (a lower budget)

It's rebooted in Australia, but with Australian Stephen Mulhern, Grant Denyer for $100,000 (a lower budget)

But America? Nope, they decided to try and put the chocolate in the “already been rebooted on CNBC and went nowhere” peanut butter and here is Deal or No Deal Island.

Now let's explain the game…

The show is broken down into two parts “The Excursion” and “The Temple”

But, let's just be perfectly honest, most people are just going to say “the challenge part” and “the deal or no deal part”

In “The Excursion” (or as I like to call it, “The Hunt”) - Contestants are given a challenge to retrieve a briefcase. This is important for not just safety in the game, but also it's the case to play “Deal or No Deal” with, maybe it's a slingshot challenge about accuracy. Maybe it's a scavenger hunt underwater, or in the trees, or buried in the sand. But they each have to hunt one case. The Banker then calls in and makes an “offer” to twist the challenge, making it easier, or more difficult for money. Some “personal offers”, that's guaranteed to the Contestant no matter what, and others that are to make the end game for more money.

Whoever does the best, however arbitrary it is, becomes the “power player” and the two weakest players (or pair, get ready for that twist) will be up for elimination in Deal or No Deal.

Cue your two or three acts with commercial breaks having social talk, while they hang in glamping tents and a gazebo with tiki drinks.

And then comes Deal or No Deal, or “The Temple”, which is more of a outdoor tent that's built to be a studio, to play deal or no deal.

The biggest cases go on the game board, so it's never the same board each episode, however, there is also the left side “low amounts” just like the original.

Whoever the “Power Player” chooses to play, is playing deal or no deal…FOR THEIR LIFE…. and also to build a jackpot for the final episode

So the game is now about luck. And the ability to make a “good deal” or a “bad deal”

A “Good Deal” means you took an offer from the Banker and it was higher than your case. (Ex. $100,000 on a $5 case) Or if you say no deal all the way, the “higher of the two cases” (a 50/50 chance)

A “Bad Deal” is the inverse, you dealt but had more money in your case (Ex. $250,000 on a $1,000,000 case) or if you no deal all the way, got the lower of the two cases (50/50)

The number of cases to open is seemingly arbitrary at this point. Gone are the days of 6/5/4/3/2/1…. Or a 5/3/3/3… and instead some variant of “a shitload of cases, another shitload of cases” then the final offers. They say it's to “speed up the game”, but, then again, so is not opening the cases one at a time.

Where's Howie?

He's probably the Banker and will be revealed at the end of the season when they play deal or no deal for actual money instead of the fun money.

While he is Executive Producer, he's given the hosting job to Joe Manganiello.

Joe is a very funny actor, in movies like Magic Mike and Spider-Man who is known to be a little adventurous, which is very fun in his role, especially when you remembered he played Deathstroke and he's “on an island” so it's fun to play with.

But, as somebody who enjoys “Tabletop RPGs” and says it helped him with acting (where's his “Live Play YouTube Podcast thing”? Get him on Dimension 20) he's trying to illustrate that in his “conversations with the banker”. Where, like the old days, you don't know who he is, but instead of in some office on a studio set, it's on a Yacht! (They rented a yacht for this?!?)

I am a fan of Joe, and I think he's a good enough fit for a game show like this, however, he can't be “fully personable”, a big problem with this “L’aison to the Banker” thing is that it never feels like the host is on the side of the contestant, but rather is only serving as “the voice of the banker”

While other hosts elsewhere will add stakes, point out the importance of the offer and what that could mean, and weigh the options, Joe can't do that. He's essentially watching people sticking their arms in “oh no, snakes and spiders” and like a Fear Factor host looking in the camera and try and talk to the audience like “look at these dumbasses embarrassing themselves for money”

Which just tells me - why not just have Joe host a reboot of Fear Factor then? It's not like anybody remembered Luda’s MTV years.

(And yes, I see you Matt Kunitz, taking the reigns for this show. And trying to figure out “it's voice” by having tropical-themed challenges. You can only do so much without just making Fear Factor Island)

But who is this for?

This is the biggest problem with the show. While it's painfully obvious the show is meant for a fan of Deal or No Deal who loves Reality TV and has a crush on Joe Manganiello, somebody like me. It never qute hits any of its marks correctly.

If you're looking for Survivor, there's already a new season on CBS. The game has SOME social game - between two people who do you put up for elimination, even though you're safe. In the event they survive, they get MORE power in the fact they can eliminate WHOEVER THEY WANT, meaning you need to keep strong bonds with everybody that's up for elimination, even though they need to stab you in the back, openly, to win. JUST LIKE SQUID GAME : THE CHALLENGE. IT'S A LUCK BASED SOCIAL GAME SHOW.

You're going to be left wanting that “hidden immunity idol” a-ha moment, and you'll never get it. There's not a lot of secrets to hide when you don't have much social moments or twists in the game, and no amount of Stunt Casting on getting Boston Rob as a contestant in it's first season is going to help.

AND IF YOU'RE A FAN OF DEAL OR NO DEAL, YOU'RE GOING TO BE PISSED.

There's no wacky stunts… no wacky stunts… no questions….

So you already destroyed a core fundamental of the game. Something that unfortunately the American version never quite got right.

THE PURPOSE OF DEAL OR NO DEAL IS THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GAME, MIXED WITH THE ASPIRATIONAL ASPECT THE GAME COULD PROVIDE. ANYBODY CAN PLAY, ANYBODY CAN WIN.

In the U.S. version, the contestants weren't like “The Wall”, where it's somebody heroic who did a good and needs money. Half the time, the contestants are just people with a wacky occupation so writers can write a “story” for them.. This is a Hot Dog Seller in Chicago, now we can say “he’s in a pickle!”. And depending on season, THE BANKER WILL GIVE YOU $5,000 IF YOU PUT KETCHUP ON A HOT DOG AND EAT IT.

Again, the Australian version went fast, there isn't enough time to know everybody or build a character. They are a police officer and they want to buy a car. They work in retail at a fashion boutique, they want to go to college. Easy peasy.

The UK version goes into the contestant, but they build that drama around it. It's not a “THIS IS COLLEGE FUND FOR MY THREE KIDS, NO DEAL!!!” it's a “So, your three kids want to go to college? Tell me about them a bit and what £26,000 could do. Are you sure you want to go on?”.

But in this version, this “upgraded, bigger and badder version” - the money does not matter.

The money isn't “life changing” because only ONE player of the THIRTEEN is going to play for real. You might as well be playing Racko.

“you knocked out the 4,5,6 and 9… it could be 1,2,3, 7, 8 or 10!” the offer is 5!

The only way to make money is from the personal offers and bonuses in the game, that's it.

It's not “anybody can play”, only one can play, preferably the one that did the best in finding a case with $3,500,000 on a ropes course”

And it's not “anybody can win” because it's again, only one person that wins.

And if we really REALLY want to get real, about the deal - the last time people thought about Deal or No Deal was at the Dave & Busters arcade for 500 tickets.

Personally, I would have preferred NBC to take Deal or No Deal into daytime (like CW, CBS and FOX are doing with The Flip Side, Trivial Pursuit and 25 Words or Less) and just make a lower budget version of the studio game, like the Syndicated version for $500,000 or even $250,000 but with recurring contestants (like, say, this reality show version), you could get a new host, a brighter set, and make it “different” and stand out. Australian Version half hour with 20 cases and $250,000 isn't bad. A UK full hour, but the 26 cases and $1,000,000 are held by people in a bright, sunny set, can work as well. (Even if you make the board “cheaper” 1k/2.5/5/7.5/10/20/30/40/50/100/250/500/Million)

Because the first step in having a “Deal or No Deal Island” is to actually make people REMEMBER Deal or No Deal.

You could do Monday through Friday and have it be just as loved as Wheel of Fortune and The Price is Right as that “Strip Show”

Or, and here's something you could also do… just have 10 or so episodes a season, and have it in a studio and have it be a “special summer series” or these special “once in a while” shows like when NBC decides “oh right, we have Weakest Link”

If it's one thing people love, its a great contestant to root for, and having life changing amounts of money, available for them, as a feel good moment, because without it, you won't have people screaming “you're being greedy!” - because even that emotional reaction is a means that you cared about the player in the first place.

For this show, the Deal or No Deal Island? There's going to be villains, so you can't root for everybody. There's no point in watching the first half, as it's only significance is who gets immunity and what's on the deal or no deal game that is just funny money.

And even though all 13 contestants would have made GREAT deal or no deal players, only 1 of them is actually going to play, and that's, kind of stupid. I want them all to win.

You could say WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, but realistically, the prize is somebody might be playing for $6,000,000 in deal or no deal and through bad luck, end up with a penny. Which would be freaking hilarious if that was to happen.

When it comes down to it…

I'm a NO DEAL ISLAND